Several blogs helped me narrow the choices down to Spreewald, Leipzig, Hamburg, Saxon Switzerland, and Dresden. All of them looked gorgeous in the springtime, thanks to all the featured photos; none of them advertised winter. What made me decide Dresden over Hamburg and the rest were 1. it was the shortest distance by bus, 2. its compact downtown area is completely accessible by walking, and 3. it had the best (warmest and driest) weather forecast for the day.